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Tuberculosis: Wake-up call in battle against world’s deadliest infectious disease
Investment in the fight against TB is an investment for the future.
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Tuberculosis patient Barack Omondi looking at his CT scan at his home in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
PHOTO: BRIAN OTIENO/NYTIMES
Budi G. Sadikin
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Every March 24, we observe World Tuberculosis Day – a grim reminder that tuberculosis continues to be one of the deadliest infectious killers in the world, a relentless foe that has plagued humanity for centuries.
The global fight against the disease is currently facing headwinds. In 2023, an estimated 10.8 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) worldwide; it claimed the lives of 1.25 million people that year, reclaiming from Covid-19 the title of the world’s leading cause of death by a single infectious agent. Meanwhile, as cases are ticking back up everywhere, the TB pathogen is evolving, giving rise to drug-resistant strains.
